Strawberries

We missed asparagus and rhubarb season  but the fresh strawberries have been absolutely delicious! I even made strawberry jam. Now our mouths are watering for fresh sweet corn!

Thunderstorms

We had forgotten how bad thunderstorms can be in Michigan! And we've had several since our arrival. Even more scary in our motorhome when there are tornado warnings. We survived hail and major wind last Friday night but it was unnerving. Last night the weather channel predicted a horrible storm coming our way so we brought in the slides and drove over to Judy's and stayed in her basement until it passed! The best thing about a basement is you can't hear the thunder or see the lightning so you have a better sense of safety! Luckily the storm wasn't as bad as predicted in our area and the motorhome was fine when we returned. We are not used to this much rain - but, duh, we've been in the desert!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! Heather & Megan have Roger all outfitted for biking - a new shirt; new bike rack and a new "fanny" pack! Now he can be the pack mule instead of me!

"Hooterville"

We arrived in Hanover/Horton last Monday after getting a new inverter in the motor home in Elkhart, Indiana. We spent a week in Duane & Salle's back yard while Roger did maintenance on the motor home. It is always nice to spend time with them and Emily. Salle is a wonderful cook and bakes cookies and muffins daily so we couldn't stay too long - we didn't want to overdo our welcome or outgrow our pants!
We moved to the trailer park in Somerset Centre today. Got all settled in and realized something is wrong with the sewer line - the gray water overflowed! So.....we are waiting to see if they move us to a different site or have rotor rooter try to fix it!
It's so nice to be close to family again. We've been to dinner with Roger's brothers and sister and we went to Mel & Ray's yesterday. Mom is doing well but didn't want to come with us - we don't try to talk her into coming anymore - she's content to stay in her apartment with Mickey her cat.
We missed the asparagus and rhubarb season but the fresh strawberries are wonderful! Gotta' get back on our bikes and work off all the shortcake we've been eating! Although the humidity is so bad it's like being in a sauna all day - we should just sweat out the extra calories!

“Ike”

We toured Dwight D. Eisenhauer’s Presidential Museum in Abilene, Kansas today. Part of our quest to visit all the Presidential museums. Unfortunately, we were disappointed – there was more about the war than about him, his family and his Presidency. But, his career was as a military leader so we should have expected that. He and Mamie are both buried there, in his hometown. We enjoyed seeing their farm in Gettysburg more.

We are staying in Lawrence, KS tonight – home of the Jayhawks. Just got back from “pigging out” on BBQ! It is good to see green grass and real trees and to have the wind blow without eating dirt! But, it is 99 degrees and the humidity is horrible! Guess every region of the country has its good and bad.

Roger was good – no ticket today!

Dodge City, Kansas

I didn’t think I would have any “blog worthy” material on our way to Michigan but Roger supplied! He got a traffic ticket for running a red light! The second one in his whole life! His first was in Richland on the day we both got a speeding ticket on our way to work!

We were driving through Meade, Kansas – going the speed limit – when the only red light in town turned yellow and then immediately red – there was no way he could stop the motor home in time so we glided through it. That’s when we met “Barney Fife.” Roger admitted he did it and the cop said “happens to the best of us, they put that thing in and now it’s my job to enforce it.”  The ticket was for $150 - $60 fine plus $90 court costs – Roger said “why am I being charged a court cost when I’m not going to court?” and the policeman said “I’m not at liberty to debate that issue sir.” There goes a tank of gas!

We drove a long day and spent the night in Dodge City – haven’t seen Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty – although the Long Branch Saloon is still here!

Canyon de Chelly

We toured the South Rim of Canyon de Chelly this morning. We thought we would eventually get to the point where we thought “oh hum, another canyon” but they are all so distinctively different that we have thoroughly enjoyed each one. Canyon de Chelly is the smallest of the ones we have seen and only about 1,000 feet deep. But, it has a relatively flat canyon floor and a good water source so the land is farmed by the Navajo people. It is green and lush and looks almost pastoral. There are ancient Indian dwellings on the side of the canyon walls. No one is allowed down into the canyon without a Navajo guide – they do have guided tours – but we decided not to take one. We had planned to hike the only trail allowed without a guide but it was hot and we met a guy who broke his leg yesterday when he slipped on the steep gravel trail – that helped us decide to forgo the experience. We drank in the peaceful area – it almost seems sacred – to store in our “hard drives!”
I drove out of the campground and for about 2 hours through the Navajo Nation and the Navajo Forest into New Mexico. I’m feeling more comfortable – except when a big gust of wind hit us! Even had to do a U-turn around construction!
We are staying in Albuquerque tonight and taking the motor home to the Freightliner service center in the morning - to hopefully get a leak in our front suspension airbag fixed.
Then we are heading to Michigan. This will be a real change for us – we are not used to driving more than a couple of hours a day – but no reason to tour any more – might as well hit it and get there!

Gooseneck State Park, Utah

We said “good bye” to our friends and left Moab today. We are soaking in all the gorgeous views as we know we will be driving through Kansas soon enough!
Gooseneck is a “free” state park in Utah – no hook ups but the view makes up for it – right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the San Juan River as it cuts a path through the rock! When you see the pictures you will see why it is called “Gooseneck!”  We decided not to spend the night here and drove to Canyon de Chelly (pronounced do-shay.) We drove about 100 miles through the Navajo Nation – it is sad and depressing to see the conditions they live in. The National Park here has a free campground but the whole area doesn’t begin to compare to the other beautiful national parks we have been in during this trip. We will tour the canyon tomorrow.

Moab Jeep Tour - Day 2

Sunday's jeep tour was "tame" compared to Saturday. We took a long loop tour through Onion Creek and then up into the LaSal Mountains. In Onion Creek you drive through the stream 23 times!It is a really red rock canyon that is gorgeous - reminded us of Sedona. There is still snow in the LaSal Mountains so they were gorgeous in an entirely different way. Camping is allowed all along the trails - mostly tents but some pop-ups - families bike, hike and play with their ATV's.
Mike & Lorraine have a really nice kayak so we helped them lauch near Moab and then took their Jeep down the Colorado River for them on Monday. We had a quiet day at "home."
Leaving for Canyon DeShelley today.